Unfair
by shockandlock
Summary: Ace doesn't have a lab partner, and he's perfectly fine with that. He's not too pleased a new student moves in, becoming his lab partner- that is, until he meets him. Marco was attractive, that's for sure. Will Ace be able to keep his calm? Birthday gift for StarPurpleandBlue.


**A/N: So I wrote this as a surprise birthday gift to my friend StarPurpleandBlue! She's been a great friend over the past few months, listening to all my story rants and helping me when I'm down, so happy birthday! Also, t****hank you to lunarshores for being my beta real quick!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was unfair.

Ace groaned loudly, earning a glare from Nami. "Quit complaining," she said in response, rolling her eyes. "It was going to happen sooner or later."

"Why me though?" he asked, not for the first time.

She shrugged. "It makes sense, right? You're the only one without a lab partner, and besides, the guy can help you stay awake for once."

"I _do not_ fall asleep that often," Ace grumbled, continuing to scowl. "I can handle it perfectly fine, thank you very much." While not having a lab partner did come with a little extra work, it also came with freedoms that no one else in the class had (provided he stay within lab procedure of course).

Nami muttered something under her breath about a few- more than a few- accidents with the Bunsen burner, but Ace just ignored her. "Why do I have to show him around too?" he continued. "They should get someone else to do it." If he was going to have to deal with this guy first thing in the morning every year, he didn't want to be stuck with him the entire first day!

"I'd be happy to take the task off your hands. For a fee, of course."

"No way," Ace replied immediately. He already knew that Nami's asking price would be ridiculously high, and he didn't feel like getting into debt.

"Then suck it up," Nami stated bluntly. She turned away when she heard her name being called. "That's my cue. Have fun waiting over here!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ace sighed as she walked off. He slumped against the wall. This new guy was taking way too long to get here! Would it kill him to just get here so they could get it over with?

"Are you Ace, yoi?"

He whipped his head in the direction of the voice and immediately froze. He was staring into the most gorgeous blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Nice to meet you," the guy said. "I'm Marco."

It took Ace a few seconds to realize that he was just staring at Marco. There was a lot to stare at after all. His blond hair was cut like a pineapple, and he was obviously hiding defined muscles underneath his shirt. He stared at Ace with half-lidded eyes, giving him a cool demeanor.

He was hot, that's for sure.

"Hello?"

Ace coughed. "Er-sorry. Yeah, that's me!" He reached out to shake Marco's hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you!"

Marco chuckled at his sudden outburst, making him melt inside. It didn't help Ace's mental state that Marco's hands were strong and firm. "It's fine. I'm sorry it took me so long, yoi. I was just had to turn in my paperwork. Can you show me where locker 227 is?"

That was next to his locker too!

Damn it. This was unfair. This was really unfair.

* * *

It was unfair.

Marco was hoping to enter this new school without any trouble (like almost every other move), but just his luck that his new lab partner was cute. Ace already came across as wonderfully cheerful, and his smile was beautiful as well. And now Marco had to spend the entire day with him. He was just glad that his brothers weren't here to torment him.

"Here's your locker," Ace said. Was he _blushing_? "It's next to mine, you know!"

While that cheerful exclamation made Marco feel like Cupid just shot him with an arrow, he had to keep cool. "Thank you, yoi." He spun the combination on the lock quickly and opened the locker. There wasn't too much space, but it would do.

"So, Marco. Why did you move to this school?" Ace asked as Marco unpacked a few books into his locker. He didn't have much with him right now, but it would fill up this time.

"Our family is settling down, yoi," he explained. "Pops isn't in the best of health right now, so we ultimately decided that he needed to stop hopping around for business."

"I'm sorry I asked!" Ace suddenly exclaimed, making Marco raise an eyebrow.

There was no need for apologies, so Marco changed his expression into a smile. "It's fine. He's tough, so he'll survive."

Marco finished putting his things in his locker and turned to Ace. The sight made his heart skip a beat: Ace _was_ blushing. Marco rather liked that look on him, though he needed to change the subject to keep his composure. "So what's our first stop?"

Ace, breaking out of his flush, answered, "Depends. What time is it?" He glanced at his watch. "Crap!"

Suddenly, seizing Marco's hand, he began sprinting down the hallways. His hand was warm, Marco noticed. "We have to get to class! I can show you around more during break!"

Break, which he would be spending exclusively with Ace.

Damn it. This was unfair. This was really unfair.

* * *

Ace was surprised he made it to break time so easily, considering the anticipation coursing through him. It probably wouldn't be this bad if he had more classes with Marco. It turns out that most of their morning classes were just nearby, so they weren't seeing each other as much as he thought. He complained earlier about his task, but now, he was looking forward to spending the break with Marco after their small talks in the hallway.

Marco was caring and responsible on top of his looks because despite talking with Ace between classes, he always made sure that they got to their respective classrooms on time. He was also the oldest brother just like Ace, so they had taken it upon themselves to swap silly stories about their brothers. Marco's had brought Ace some of the best laughter he'd had in _ages_.

On the other hand, he felt doomed when Nami plopped down next to him.

"So what was with you and that guy Marco this morning?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "I thought you said it was a waste of time?"

"Shut up," Ace grumbled. He really didn't need the teasing now.

"But I think anyone could tell the real reason. We could all see the _chemistry_ between you this morning."

He rolled his eyes. "You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"Maybe." Nami grinned. "It's nice to see you crushing on someone."

Did she have to say that now? "Shut up!" he hissed. "He's coming this way!"

"Hello, Ace," Marco greeted, setting his lunch tray down. "And you're Nami, right?"

"That's me." Nami was grinning that stupid sly grin of hers, filling Ace's stomach with dread. Thankfully, he already inhaled his lunch. She leaned over and whispered in Ace's ear, "Good choice."

It took almost all of Ace's willpower to keep from sputtering out a protest. Marco was already looking at them suspiciously.

"Oi, Nami!"

Damn her, getting called away again.

"What was that about?" Marco asked.

"It's nothing!" He couldn't let Marco know! How creepy would he seem if he told Marco he liked him right off the bat?

"Well, if you say so, yoi." But the concerned look didn't go away. Ace could've sworn that his heart skipped a beat at the thought of Marco being worried about him. "Just let me finish eating and then you can show me around, hm?"

"Y-yeah. That sounds good."

This was not good for his sanity, Ace thought as he tried to calm his heart.

* * *

Ace was an interesting character to say the least, but that only made Marco like him more- not that Marco would admit it. Ace's cheery demeanor was infectious, and he was easily able to get Marco engaged in conversation. Usually, Marco was the listener, but something about Ace just made him want to share things. It was a nice change of pace.

He didn't mind spending the entire break period with him. It was actually pleasant (though that may have had something to do with the fact that Ace was pretty much holding his hand the entire time).

"And this is the library," Ace said. "The place always makes me a bit tired, but I'm always caught when I try to nap in here. Robin has eyes everywhere." He pouted, and Marco couldn't help chuckling. Ah, yes. Ace had already informed him of his narcolepsy problem.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, yoi." Marco was still laughing though. "You were just so-" He cut himself off. Was he really about to admit that out loud?

"I was what?" Ace tipped his head curiously, bringing his face closer to Marco. Marco could only hope that Ace didn't see the ever so slight blush across his cheeks from the proximity.

"It's nothing, yoi."

"Marco..."

"And what to we have here?"

He let out a quiet sigh of relief as the woman approached. She had just unintentionally saved him. Ace smiled at her.

"Hi, Robin," he greeted. "Marco this is Robin. She's the librarian."

"Nice to meet you," Marco said. "I'm new here, so Ace is showing me around."

She raised an eyebrow at him, making him wonder if he said something wrong. He counted over the words in his head quickly, finding nothing wrong with them. "Is that so? Well take care of each other then." Before Marco could ask what this meant, Robin adjusted the books in her hand and walked away.

"I swear," Ace sighed, "they're always trying to embarrass me."

"I know the feeling." Marco's brothers made fun of him multiple times in the past, though they had mainly teased him about crushes. There was no way Robin was talking about that, right?

"Anyways, I think that was the last stop of our tour," Ace said, and Marco felt a slight sinking disappointment in his stomach.

Naturally, he wanted it to go away, but he wasn't expecting such impulsive words to come out of his mouth. "Can I have your number just in case I need anything, yoi?"

Ace looked genuinely surprised at this request, but eventually his mouth spread into a grin.

This was not good for his sanity, Marco thought as he entered Ace's number into his phone.

* * *

Ace was pretty sure that he and Marco were perfect lab partners.

Ace could handle the work on his own before, but Marco was good at doing the parts Ace hated: lab reports. His word choice was concise, and his handwriting was neater. Meanwhile, Ace handled the bulk of the experiments. It was his favorite part of chemistry after all.

They practically worked in perfect synchronization. Marco would read out the experiment and write things down, and Ace listened and followed instructions. They were an efficient team and were able to finish experiments the fastest with great results.

Well, provided that no one interrupt them.

"What are you doing here, Nami?" he sighed, lighting the Bunsen burner. She really should have been at her own lab station, but she tended to do whatever she wanted, which unfortunately included pestering Ace.

"Ace, it's fine, yoi," Marco reassured, giving him a smile. Ace felt his annoyance wane at those words, but Nami noticed this and giggled.

"Oi!" he growled.

"I swear," she started, "you guys are so cute."

"N-Nami!" Ace stammered. Marco didn't respond (he was busy writing things down), but Ace swore that he saw him blush. The thought of that made his heart flutter. He couldn't focus like this!

"You just keep dancing around each other!"

Ace continued to glare at Nami, reaching for the required chemicals. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He fumed quietly, attempting to tune Nami out. He never had to deal with her tormenting him about crushes before, but he knew from experiences with other friends. Now that he was experiencing it for himself, it was terrible.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure. Marco? What do you think?"

Marco looked up from his work to respond, but Ace himself just looked away. He didn't want to hear what he had to say, dreading the response. He grabbed the test tube with the crucible tongs and moved it towards the flame.

"We're a little busy, yoi. But anyways..." Marco trailed off as if distracted by something. Suddenly his eyes grew wide. Nami noticed as well because she too began panicking.

"Wait, Ace!"

He looked up in confusion. "Yeah?

"That's the wrong-!"

_BOOM_

The only thing Ace could think about as the lab was evacuated was how mortified he was. There's no way Marco would like him after _this_!

* * *

Marco sighed, scrubbing at the lab table.

"I can't believe we got detention," Ace grumbled, voicing exactly what Marco was thinking.

"You can say that again, yoi," Marco agreed. He could only imagine what Pops would say about this incident, though it would probably include a lot of laughing. And then there was the matter of his brothers. He was sure they would ask about the bandages from the burns, and once they heard the truth... Well, knowing his brothers, they would never let him live it down.

"I'm really sorry about that, Marco!" Ace apologized.

Marco shook his head, setting down the cloth he was scrubbing with. "It's fine, yoi. Nami was being, ah, _distracting_."

Ace blushed, showing Marco that look he had grown to love so much. "Just ignore what she was saying," he muttered. "It was nothing."

Marco didn't like what he was saying. He liked Ace, and if Ace liked him back, then that would be just _amazing_. He wasn't about to let this chance slip away from him.

He walked over to where Ace was and leaned over the table close to his face. Ace's eyes went wide and his face went tomato red. "M-Marco?"

"What if I don't want to forget, yoi?" Marco asked. He smirked. "You think I don't hear all the chemistry jokes people make about us."

That must relieved some of Ace's tension because he laughed. The sound was wonderful. "They are pretty obvious about that, aren't they?"

His laughter was infectious as well as wonderful. Soon, Marco was laughing as well.

When they stopped, Ace was the one asking the questions. "So you _do_ like me?"

"Well, yes," Marco admitted.

Ace smiled. "I like you too, Marco."

Marco felt like flying at that confession, unable to help the gentle smile that graced his lips. There was a happy shine in Ace's eyes, making Marco feel even lighter. He reached over the table and intertwined their fingers. They sat in a comfortable silence, continuing to smile at each other.

Finally, Marco spoke again. "Do you want to get something to eat later?"

"How about _now_?"

"Really, Ace?" He raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I'll let you get out of cleaning?"

"Party pooper." Ace pouted.

"Don't worry, yoi. We'll make it an official date."

"I'd like that, Marco."

* * *

**Well, since I know you love chemistry, I tried to go for a lab partners type thing! I wish I had been more detailed though, but it's way longer than I intended. I don't know. Maybe I'll write a short follow-up in the future?**

**Let me know what you think!**


End file.
